Watch the Best Female Fighter in New York City Kick Ass

NEW YORK

She's Aggressive Combat Championships' female title holder, and this past weekend, Katalina Morales stepped into the cage at the inaugural Battle at the Aviator in Brooklyn and did her best Ronda Rousey imitation on opponent Aly Franco. Check out the video of that fight after the jump.

Brawlapalooza Poster

NEW YORK

Last Night's East Coast MMA Show is a Must-See

NEW YORK

Major props are due to the East Coast MMA Show, who for last night's episode had a ton of reasoned discourse on sanctioned, semi-sanctioned and completely unsanctioned MMA events in New York State. The special guest was Rage Rivas, a coach and longtime behind-the-scenes organizer for the Underground Combat League, so there was insight aplenty in how events are when there are varying levels of oversight.

Fists of Fury Poster

NEW YORK

The New York Liquor Law That Can Shut Down Fight Shows

NEW YORK

New York Unconsolidated Laws Section 8509-a, a.k.a. the "combative sports" law, is the statute that famously bans professional MMA in New York but allows amateur events, and it's the law that gets the most attention. But there's another law on the books that can be - and sometimes has been - used to put the kibosh on fight shows. Enacted in 2001, the New York Alcohol Beverage Control Law Section 106-6-c bans combative sporting events of both the pro and amateur variety at venues with liquor licenses.

The text of the statute is as follows (emphasis mine):

Scenes From An NYC Bar Association Panel on MMA

NEW YORK

Yesterday the New York City Bar Association hosted a panel discussion on MMA in New York, and nestled in among panelists Peter J. Kiernan (former counsel for Governor David Patterson), Senator Liz Krueger (one of the sport's most vocal opponents), and Justin Klein (the attorney who drafted this Association of Boxing Commissions letter) was yours truly. Before an audience of about 15 to 20, we talked about all things relative to pro and amateur MMA here, including the legislative efforts and the Zuffa vs. New York lawsuit.

Remembering Billy Craparo on the Anniversary of His Death

NEW JERSEY

Today is the five-year anniversary of the death of Billy Craparo, a trailblazer in the local New Jersey MMA scene who encapsulated what it meant to be a blue collar fighter in the early, pre-Zuffa days of the sport.

Here's what I posted on Craparo when he passed in 2009:

Nationwide Amateur MMA Tournament to Culminate at MMA World Expo on July 26

NEW YORK

The July 26 an 27 MMA World Expo at the Javits Center in Manhattan will have a lot to offer MMA fans, not the least of which is the amateur MMA show slated to go down. Thanks to the good folks at Fighters Source, a nationwide tournament will culminate in the cage there, and as the following card indicates, fighters who've fought and won throughout the country at FS events will be mixing it up.

Things to note about the lineup: New York City has one representative in Stuart Gordon, with a fighter from Syracuse coming down to lend some more somewhat local flavor. Also, it seems the team from Fresno has been kicking a ton of ass this year. A ton of ass.

AKBF Fight League Poster

NEW YORK

A Clip From Last Night's Battle at the Aviator

NEW YORK

No, I did not go to the event, but thanks to the magic of social media, we can relive some of the action that we missed. Enjoy this clip, which is of two ladies scrapping hard.

Flashback: Aggressive Combat Championship's First MMA Show

NEW YORK

The next big MMA show on tap for New York City is Aggressive Combat Championships' July 12 shindig at York College. In honor of that affair, here's a video on their first full amateur MMA card, which took place on January 26, 2013.

Go ahead, take a walk down memory lane.

MMA Battle at Schuetzen Park Official Results

NEW JERSEY

• Troy Green def. Robert Maldonado via Unanimous Decision
• Miguel Lopez def. Vernal McCalla via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:43, R2
• O'Brayan Ramirez def. Kenneth Ward via TKO at 2:09, R1
• Marcus Diaz def. Hamsel Burgos via Unanimous Decision

Whole Lotta Fights Going Down Tonight

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

If you live in the New York/New Jersey area, your combative sport options today are pretty copious. What are the options?

If you want to catch some amateur MMA action, you have a Lou Neglia/Dead Serious co-promotion in North Bergen, N.J. to check out...

New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame Poster

NEW JERSEY

Another UFC Double-Header Tomorrow

UFC

There's another UFC double-header on tap tomorrow, with UFC Fight Night Auckland rocking our computer monitors at 2:30am (it's on UFC Fight Pass) and a UFC Fight Night out of San Antonio coming to us on FOX Sports 1 in the evening. Yes, it's crazy how much UFC action we get nowadays, and if you're an ardent fan, it's pretty much impossible to keep up with it all and still maintain a life.

Anyway, here are some preview videos to get you motivated to watch some - or none - of tomorrow's events.

What Are You Doing on Saturday Night?

NEW YORK

Mid-Year Combative Sports Stats for New Jersey and New York

NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK

We're halfway through the year, and as is the custom, New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Grand Poobah Nick Lembo has released some stats on what has transpired in 2014 thus far. Of course, not to be outdone, I've compiled some stats regarding New York mixed martial arts. Compare them, contrast them, do whatever with them. I don't care!

MMA Platinum Gloves Poster

NEW YORK

Official New York City Fighter Rankings - June '14 Edition

NEW YORK

It's that time again, time to flesh out something of a pecking order in the flourishing New York City amateur MMA scene. Since last we visited this topic, there have been four fight shows, and with championship belts changing hands, new stars have emerged. So let's get to it!

Throwback Thursday: Larry Hazzard Sr.

NEW JERSEY

Though Dana White and Zuffa get a lot of credit for making MMA into the sport we know and love today, one figure who often gets undeservedly overlooked is Larry Hazzard Sr. Hazzard was commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board for 22 years, and it was during his watch that he (and Nick Lembo) developed and implemented the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.